Electric railway



' (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1, J. P. MUNSIE. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

Patented June 30,1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. P. MUNSIE. ELEGTRIG RAILWAY.

No. 455,234. Patented June 30,1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. MUN SIE, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 455,234, dated June 30, 1891.

Application filed May 8, 1891.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES F. MUNSIE, a British subject, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the'same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in and appertaining to electric railways, and has for its object to obviate the dangers and inconveniencesincident to the customary permanent trolleytrackways for overhead electric railways by substituting therefor a trackway made up of separate sections normally in an upright position and out of contact with the feedingconductor, said sections being adapted to be brought into electrical connection with the feeding-conductor by means of a trolley or trolleys upon the car, so as to continuously supply the car-motor circuit from the feeding-conductor.

It is characteristic of my invention that the sectional trackway points upwardly, so as to otter the least possible obstruction to the streets, and that it is normally out of circuit with the feeding-conductor, thereby avoiding danger to life and property. It is also an incident to the construction embodied in my improvements that the upright trackwaysections serve as lightning-conductors to protect adjacent property and the feeding-conductor itself, the trackway-sections being normally grounded (either directly or by means of lightningarresters) through the posts or standards upon which they are mounted.

The preferred construction in which I have embodied my improvements is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein- F-igure 1 represents in side elevation a portion of an electric railway and its appurtenances constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 represents an end elevation thereof. Fig. 3 represents atop plan view of one of the track-supportin g posts on standards, the track-sections being represented as in the lower or current-transmitting position. Fig. 5 represents in end elevation the contact-plate, which rests upon the Serial No. 392,103. (No model.)

upper portion of the posts or standards; and Fig. 4 represents a section and partial elevation on the line y 11 of Fig. 2, illustrating, however, the terminal position of the tracksections.

Similar numerals of referenceindicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, 6 indicates a conduit for the reception of the feeding-conductor 7, which conductor extends, as usual, from the positive pole of the electric gener: ator at the distant station .to the end of the line, being provided from point to point with branch conductors 8, extending upwardly through suitable metallic posts or standards 9 to metallic contact-plates 10. Each metal- ,lic contact-plate 10 is mounted upon an insulator, whose stem 11 is perforated for the passage of the branch conductor, and which has a cap 12 overhanging a subjacent cup 13, adapted to be filled with sulphuric acid or other hygroscopic material. The construction of this insulator is not claimed herein, as it is made the subject-matter of other applications for patents filed by me. Its purpose is to maintain the inside of the cap 12 in a the current from the contact-plate 10 in wet or foggy weather. p

The contact-plate 10 is provided with downwardly and outwardly projecting arms 14, and opposite the intervening space between these arms is mounted upon a projection 15 of the post 9 an insulator 16, of like construction and material (preferably glass or vulcanite) as the insulator supporting the contact-plate 10.

Upon the top of the insulator 16 the metallic track-section is supported, said track-section consisting of the main body portion 17, rearward extension 18, horizontal bend 19, mounted to rock in bearings 20, and dependent arms 21, having a weight 22. Upon the side of the projection 15 is located a metallic spring 23 in conductive contact therewith, said spring 23 having a central bend, within which the dependent arm 21 is adapted to rest when the sectional trackway is in the upright position, so that said trackway when in the upright position will be grounded through the post 9.

The electrically-propelled car is to be prodry condition, so as to prevent grounding of vided with the usual motor suitably geared to the traction-wheels and grounded therefrom, and the leading-in wire or wires of said motor are connected to the metallic spring-arms 24., which support the metallic bar 25. The bar 25 is provided with a series of contacts, preferably metallic trolleys 26, said trolleys being in line with the trackway-section, so as to come in contact with said sections successively during the progressive movement of the car. At the outer ends of the bar 25, beyond the trolleys 26, are mounted the trolleys 27, of nonconducting material, whose function is to rock the sections into the horizontal position.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The several trackway-sections are normally in the upright position, in consequence whereof they areout of contact with the arms 14:, and consequently out of electrical connec tion withthe feeding-conductor. Atthe same time they are groundedthroughthe post 9, so as toactas lightning-conductors, thereby being no source of danger,-but really a safeguard to lifeand property. During the forward'movement of the car the non-conduct, injg trolley 27 comes in contact with the track-1 sections 17 and rocks saidtrack-sections succe'ssively-to ahorizontal or substantially hori- *zontal =position, as indicated in Figs. 1, 3, and 5. The first effect incident -to the rocking downwardly of a track-seotion-is to break connection between it and the ground, and the finalefiect is to bring the track-section and its rearwardextension 18 into contact with the arms 14, thereby permitting the current from-the corresponding branch conductor 81 toipass from-the contact-plate lO to the tracksect-ion. Jonsequentlyas soonas the first of the series of conducting-trolleys makes con- -tact-with-such tracksection the-motor is actuated to drive the car onward. The trolleys therefore ride forward upon thelowered tracksection until the advance non-conducting trolg ley-27 comes in contact'with thenext succeeding track-section,which is therebylowered in likemanner and brought into circuit with the} feedingconductor and eventually withthe motor-circuit as soon as the first of the trolleys 26: touches said track-section. It will be observed} that the arrangement is such that the circuit is not broken from the feeding-conductor to thecar-motor during the forward motion of the trolleys from one track-section to another for the'reason that before the last of the series of conducting-trolleys has left one track-section the first of the series comes in contact-with the next succeeding track-section, thereby insuring continuity of currentsupplyto the motor-circuit. It will be observed that theextreme ends of the bar- 25 arecurved or bent upwardly. I prefer this construction, as itenables said ends to act as spring-buffers totake up the shock of impact .justbefore the pulley 27 actually strikes the track-section. These bent ends will beproyidedwith facings 28 of non-conductive ma- 'terial.

It will of course be understood that the car is to be supplied with the usual switches, resistances, and other customary appurtenances for varying its speed, for stopping or starting the car, or for reversing its direction of movement.

As soon as the rear non-conducting trolley 27 leaves the free end of the track-section over which it has just passed the said tracksection immediately swings back to its original upright position by reason-of the weight 22, and is caught and held in place by the central bend of the spring 21 and grounded by said spring through the post 9.

It is evident that instead of grounding the track-sections by establishing actual electrical contact between said sections when in the upright position and the .posts that said ground may be established through the intermediacyof lightning-arresters interposed between the posts and the upright track-sections.

Having thus described-my invention, that I claim is- 1. In an electric railway, the combination, with the feeding-conductor, of atrolley-track consistin-gof a series of sections suspended in an uprightposition and adaptedto swing downwardly, substantially as described.

2. In an electric railway, the combination, with the feeding-conductor, of a trolley-track consistingof a series of sections suspended in an upright position and adapted to swing downwardly, said sections being normally out of conductive connection with the feedingconductor, substantially as described.

8. In an electric railway, the combination, with the feeding-conductor, of a trolley track consisting of a series of sections suspended in an upright position and adapted-to swing downwardly, said sections being normally out of conductive connection with the feeding-conductor and grounded, substantially as described.

I. In an electric railway,the combination, with the main feeding-conductor and its branch conductors, of contact-plates connectedto the terminals of the branch conductors, and a trolley-track consisting of a series ofsections suspended in an upright'posit-ion out of conductive contact withsaid contact plates and adapted whenswung downwardly to complete connection with said contact-plates, substantially as described.

5. In an electric railway, a car provided with a series of trolleys mounted upon its upper portion, the terminal members of the series being of insulating material and the intermediate ones of conductive material, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES FF. MUNSIE.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN C. PENNIE, D. G. STUART. 

